


The Season of Loving and Taking

by Fire_Bear



Series: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas [11]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Dinner, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, First Meetings, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Meet the Family, Meeting the Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 18:23:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8928190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Bear/pseuds/Fire_Bear
Summary: Matthew is fed up with his family at Christmas and just wants to go back to Canada where he can be himself. However, his Christmas gets considerably more interesting when his sister turns up with her new boyfriend.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zeplerfer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeplerfer/gifts).



> Mark = Molossia
> 
> (It's slightly late, whoops.)
> 
> Ah, before I forget, this is for the prompt: Character A is pretending to be their friend’s lover for the sake of the friend’s family. Character B is said friend’s sibling.

“Oh, Matthew! You're looking more and more handsome by the day.”

“Thanks, Grandma,” Matthew replied, smiling at her.

“Have you got a nice young lady you have your eye on?”

Matthew tried to grimace or sigh: it had barely been five minutes since his grandparents had shuffled into his parents' house and he was already being interrogated about his love life. He hoped Amelia turned up soon so that the attention would shift to her. After all, he always felt awkward about talking to his parents and grandparents: both sets had made it very clear what they thought of 'the gays'. And Amelia loved her family, said nary a word against them, so Matthew had no way of knowing if he could confide in her.

It was the reason he now studied in Canada, so he could be as far from his family as he could get whilst still being close enough to come to their aid if they needed him.

“No, Grandma,” he said, smiling as shyly as he could under the circumstances.

“That's a crying shame!” she exclaimed. “You're such a lovely, polite, sweet young man. You could definitely sweep any woman off her feet if she took your fancy. Don't you have women lining up at your door, pleading with you for a date?”

 _Only to plead for help with their assignments so they can_ go _on their dates_ , Matthew thought. “Not that I've noticed.”

“Oh, my darling,” his grandmother said, shaking her head. “No doubt you'll be jealous of your sister.”

“Amy? Why?”

“Didn't your mother tell you? Sarah, sweetie, didn't you tell Matthew about Amelia?!”

Poking her head around the living room door, evidently harassed from trying to cook dinner, blond hair coming loose, Sarah blinked at them. “What was that, Jeanie?”

“Didn't you tell Matthew about Amelia and who she's bringing?”

“Oh, that completely slipped my mind!”

“What? What is it?” Matthew asked, frowning at them both.

“She's bringing her boyfriend. Bert, I think she said his name was.”

Matthew grimaced. “ _Bert_?” he said, imagining his little sister turning up with an older man in a suit, dark hair, bright eyes, cheerful demeanour, the perfect man for the perfect girl. The name sounded like someone serious, someone who would call their mom, 'ma'am'. He wrinkled his nose and tried to quell the rising jealousy and need to protect his sister from anyone trying to take advantage of her.

“Yes,” Sarah said and waved a whisk at Matthew. “And you play nice. I know you like to scare off your sister's boyfriends by playing mind games with them.”

The picture of innocence, Matthew placed a hand on his heart. His grandparents chuckled. If they knew the reality (that Amelia had _asked_ him to get rid of them for some reason or other), they'd probably be less impressed. Not that he cared too much.

But, already, he was tired of the charade and wanted very much for Christmas to end. He only had to endure a couple more days before he could drive back to Canada...

When the doorbell rang, Matthew jolted in his seat. He looked up and watched his dad head towards the door, kitted out in a Christmas jumper and a frown to scare Bert. Everyone in the living room – Matthew, his grandparents, his uncle, his cousin Mark – listened to the murmuring of voices followed by loud laughter from both Amelia and their dad. Then the door was shut and footsteps grew closer.

In walked a procession: Mr. Jones with a couple of gift bags, grinning happily; Amelia in a tight Christmas t-shirt which said 'Ho Ho Ho' and had a picture of Santa on it; a young man about Matthew's age. Matthew could only stare at him, breath caught in his throat. Bert had dyed white hair (which looked natural on him) with dark eyes which had a tinge of red about them. He grinned widely at everyone, apparently uncaring of what they thought of the piercings in his ears. A black, shirt had been ripped at the sleeves, giving the man a jagged look and he wore tight, _tight_ black jeans. To complete the ensemble, he had a thick, black wristband and wore black biker boots.

Staring at him, Matthew eyed his piercings in particular and wanted to bite each and every one of them.

He almost slapped himself for thinking such a thing. First off, if he showed any sort of attraction to a man with his family around, he may as well just return to Canada immediately. Secondly, he'd just met the guy and he probably would be horrified to know that the first thought Matthew had had was that he wanted to- He forcibly cut off that train of thought. Lastly, and most importantly, Bert was _his sister's boyfriend._ His sister's boyfriend.

As Amelia went around the family, giving them tight hugs in welcome, Bert stood at the door, watching her. His smile was still present but Matthew thought that it looked a little strained now. Obviously, poor Bert was nervous. Matthew considered his options: he could continue staring at Bert for the length of time it took for Amelia to reach him, always the last to be hugged, or he could go over and make _Amelia's boyfriend_ feel welcome. While he weighed his options, Bert surveyed the room and, suddenly, their eyes met. Matthew's eyes widened, alarmed: Bert blinked at him, looking surprised.

Deciding to talk to Bert, Matthew stood – just in time for Amelia to launch herself at him. “Mattie!” she cried. “Good to see you! How's Canada?”

“Cold,” Matthew replied, grinning at her. She hugged him tight in response before stepping back. “How's Boston?”

“Colder,” she claimed, grinning in kind. Turning from Matthew, Amelia skipped to Bert's side. “Everyone,” she told the room. “This is my boyfriend, Gilbert. Isn't he sweet?”

“Hi,” said Gilbert. “Nice to meetcha.” He had a strange accent, like a mix of Bostonian and something else.

“Oh, look at that!” cried Matthew's grandma. “Don't they make the perfect couple?”

Matthew tried not to let his disgust at how corny that sounded show on his face. However, when he glanced back at Gilbert, he saw that the man was looking right back at him and appeared amused. Ducking his head, Matthew told himself that he wouldn't look directly at Gilbert again.

* * *

Due to seating arrangements, Matthew ended up at the end of the table next to his uncle and opposite Gilbert. He wanted to keep his eyes down but he knew that that would be rude. So he had to blink at him, watching the man watching his family. Then, after his mother had set down the last of the food, Gilbert turned his attention to Matthew.

“So,” he said, “you're Amelia's brother?”

“Yeah,” Matthew answered, politely waiting for the bowls to be passed around as he usually did. “I'm Matthew; nice to meet you.”

“Of course it is – you won't meet someone as awesome as me!” Gilbert grinned at him, obviously proud of himself.

Staring, Matthew took a moment to take in what he'd just said. Then he snorted, covering his mouth with a hand to hold back his laughter. “I see,” he said once he had caught his breath.

“Hey! Do you not believe me?” Gilbert demanded, pouting.

“Well, no. Not really. I don't exactly have a Scale of Awesome to judge you against.”

“You have me,” Amelia interjected, grabbing a bowl before Mark could, ignoring his squawk of indignation.

“I'm not sure that helps...” Matthew said, watching her pile potatoes onto her plate.

“Thought you were on a diet?” Gilbert asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It's Christmas,” was Amelia's explanation.

Taking the proffered bowl, Gilbert nodded. “True.” He dished out some potatoes before looking up at Matthew. “You want some?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah, thanks,” said Matthew, surprised by the offer. Usually, he was forgotten in favour of the rowdier members of the family, last to get any food. And he always had to get it himself. He watched Gilbert calmly pile up Matthew's plate with ham and vegetables and stuffing.

When Gilbert caught him watching, he grinned. “Gotta grab it while we can, right?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“So, Amelia mentioned Canada earlier – you live there?”

“I study in the University of Toronto.”

“Oh, cool. What made you go there?”

Matthew glanced down the length of the table before answering. “Various reasons.”

Gilbert's eyes widened and, for some reason, Matthew could see understanding within them. “Oh.”

They ate in silence for a moment, listening to Amelia regaling Mark with tales of her adventures with someone named Alice. “Are you studying in Boston, too?”

“Yup. Gotta do something fun before I get stuck with the nine to five deal.”

Snorting, Matthew had to take a drink before he made more of an idiot of himself than he already had. “So you met her on campus? Or are you in her classes?”

“Met her through a friend of a friend, actually,” Gilbert explained. “At a party.”

“Was it love at first sight?” Matthew found himself asking. He really didn't want to know the answer – their conversation wasn't much but it was fun. And he liked the fact that someone was paying attention to him rather than Amelia. Even if it _was_ her boyfriend.

His chest suddenly felt tight.

“Oh, uh,” Gilbert glanced towards Amelia. “I suppose so? I mean, I didn't realise I was in love till later.”

Giving Gilbert a look, Matthew said, “That means it wasn't.”

“Well, yeah, so, I met up with her on a few dates and, y'know... yeah.”

“I've not really dated much...”

“And... you're not with anyone now?”

“You sound like my grandma,” said Matthew, a little aggressively.

“Sorry,” said Gilbert, looking a bit panicked. “I didn't mean it like that. I was just...” Gilbert shrugged and looked down at his plate, poking at a stray carrot.

“No, _I'm_ sorry. I just... wish that people would stop nagging me about it...”

“I get it. My dad was always asking me when I'd get a nice girlfriend like my sister, Monika ha- Ah! I mean...” Gilbert glanced worriedly down the table. “She has a boyfriend. Uh. Feliciano. He's dead nice, good cook, works hard when, willing to fight for her-his! girlfriend. And my dad wanted me to get someone like that for ages.”

Letting Gilbert's corrections slide, Matthew smiled, amused. “And you got Amy.”

“Well, she's got her good points, too,” said Gilbert defensively, looking worried.

Matthew laughed. “You don't need to defend her to me. I know. In fact...” Matthew trailed off, trying not to feel so down about that fact that Gilbert and Amelia looked really good together, from what he had seen so far.

Gilbert breathed a sigh of relief. “Right. Sorry. Just...” He looked towards Amelia again but his girlfriend was too busy talking to her aunt.

“Anyone for seconds?” Sarah suddenly shouted. Both Matthew and Gilbert declined but Amelia asked for more as did Mark: Matthew had never worked out how his could eat so much yet stay so thin, even when she wasn't dieting.

While the rest of the family ate more, Gilbert turned to Matthew. “So, since you're in Canada so much, do you speak French?”

“Oh, yes. I'm pretty much fluent.”

“In Canadian French or Parisian?” Gilbert asked.

“Quebecois French, oui,” Matthew replied. “Why?” he asked, hoping that Gilbert would say he could speak it, too.

“I've got a friend who's French. His family moved to Canada a few years ago and he _hates_ Quebecois. Says it sounds like someone's gargling his 'beautiful' language.”

“It's not that bad!” Matthew exclaimed, equal parts amused and affronted.

“I know,” Gilbert grinned. “But, then, I only speak English, German and a bit of Spanish so he never listens to me.”

“You're... trilingual?” Matthew asked, intrigued. He leaned closer to Gilbert, his world narrowed to the amazing young man.

“Nah, bilingual. I come from Prussia. I just speak Spanish 'cause one of my other friends is Spanish. Well, Spanish-American. He taught me a bit – I could probably get around Spain as a tourist but I couldn't blend in with the locals.” Gilbert paused and tilted his head, looking upwards in thought. “Ah, that might also be because I only burn, never tan.”

Matthew had to cover his mouth to keep his laugh at an acceptable volume. When he looked up, he noticed that Gilbert looked quite pleased with himself. “It sounds like you have an international menagerie of friends,” he said when he caught his breath.

“And you don't?”

“Well...” Matthew shrugged. “I'm mainly friends with the Canadians but I suppose there's Kostyantyn; he's lovely. And Anya is nice, too. That's a Ukrainian and a Russian, by the way. They're step-siblings and their younger sister is...” Matthew shuddered. “Kinda scary when she wants to be.”

“I'm sure you can fend her off if she takes an interest in you.”

“I doubt she would,” Matthew said, knowing Natalya knew fine well he was gay.

“Oh, come on,” said Gilbert, giving Matthew an encouraging smile. “You're handsome and kind – any girl in her right mind would eat you up.”

Shifting uncomfortably, Matthew abruptly remembered where he was, who surrounded him and just who the person he was speaking to was. This wasn't a date. It would never be a date. His heart plummeted and he nodded to his empty plate. “Right,” he mumbled.

“Who's for pie?” Sarah yelled and the sudden chaos meant that Matthew could excuse himself and get out from under Gilbert's questioning gaze.

* * *

After dinner, everyone moved to the living room to play games: charades was ruined by Amelia and Gilbert both talking people through it (Gilbert 'helped' Matthew more than he did with anyone else); Clue was ruined when Amelia, confident she had gotten the right answer, revealed to all those present that she was highly wrong (Matthew had been closest and so won the right to a Christmas cookie); Scrabble was ruined when Amelia, in conversation with their mom, threw her hand in the air and lost some of the tiles. Finally, Monopoly had been dragged out, late into the evening. Matthew excused himself on the grounds of... well, he just refused to play and didn't even bother being nice about it. Gilbert excused himself on the grounds that he didn't want to 'get on anyone's bad side'. The family had laughed at that and accepted it.

Throughout the fun, Matthew had learnt several things about Gilbert: he didn't really know what he wanted to do with his life; he could play the guitar and the drums; he always played pranks on people; he loved blogging and his blog was just a click away ( _don't do it, Matthew!_ ); he kept up an active social circle, partying as often as possible; he had a pet bird he called Gilbird XVI because it had become a tradition to call any bird he owned that; he thought he could _talk_ to the bird and it understood him. Matthew divulged a lot of himself, too: his love of ice cream; his love of ice hockey (he _may_ have spoken about it too much); the fact that he played ice hockey despite his parents' protests; the story of how he chased off a drunken man who had been bothering Anya one time by grabbing his hockey stick when he went off to meet her; his Psychology course and how much he was enjoying it.

Most of what Matthew had learnt, he had overheard. Everything Gilbert learnt was from what he had asked Matthew, seemingly taking an interest. Every time Matthew spoke. Gilbert paid rapt attention. It made Matthew both uncomfortable and pleased, his cheeks probably constantly red.

It did _not_ help the _minor_ attraction to _Amelia's boyfriend_.

But it did mean that, whenever Matthew looked around the room, he eyes sought out Gilbert. So he was probably the only one to notice Gilbert excuse himself from a conversation with his grandmother. Since she looked a little drunk and Gilbert seemed pained, Matthew grew concerned. He quickly excused himself, telling anyone who cared to know that he was going to the toilet. (Nobody asked but that was for the better.) Reaching the hall, he looked up and down it, soon spotting that the front door was ajar.

Cautiously, he approached and slipped through it, half-expecting to be told to leave. As he stepped onto the porch, though, Gilbert, who had been leaning on the railing, turned to look and smiled at Matthew, lighting up. “Hey,” he murmured, much quieter than he had been all night. “Needed some fresh air, too?”

“Mm,” said Matthew, coming to stand beside him. He left a respectable hand's width of space between them so he wouldn't be able to give into the urge to hold Gilbert's hand. Nonetheless, his heart beat wildly: they were practically alone and, if he only forgot about Amelia, he'd be able to think that anything could happen. But it wouldn't: Gilbert was with Amelia and was probably very straight.

“Amelia's a really nice girl,” Gilbert suddenly said, instantly proving Matthew right. Again. God, he hated being right sometimes.

“I know. She's my sister.” Matthew fell silent for a moment, debating on how wise it would be to bring up the reason Gilbert was out here. He gave in to his curiosity. “What did my grandma say to you?”

“Ah. Uh. She started asking about great-grandkids.”

Matthew blanched. “Oh my God! I'm so sorry. Don't listen to her – she's drunk.”

Gilbert laughed, a light airy thing which sounded a little odd but so perfect for Gilbert. “I know. It's okay. Though... She _did_ go on to say that none of you would be angry if I 'knocked Amy up'.” Gilbert supplied the quotation marks and Matthew put his head in his hands.

“Oh. My. God. That woman!”

After a brief silence where Matthew grew more embarrassed by the second and kept his face covered, hands gripped his wrists and pulled them away. Shocked, Matthew stared up at Gilbert who was grinning. “I told her not to worry about that. There's no way I'll get Amelia pregnant.”

Frowning, Matthew shook his head, trying to step away from Gilbert. The man held on tight so Matthew gave up on that. “Just because you use protection, doesn't mean it's guaranteed that you won't, you know.”

“Even if I didn't, she won't get pregnant.”

“What?!” Matthew exclaimed, trying to wrench his arms away, growing equal parts concerned and angry.

Gilbert rolled his eyes and tightened his grip. “You're pretty clever but I didn't think I had to spell this out to you: haven't you noticed that me and Amy haven't talked much tonight? Or that we've not kissed, not once? We've barely been in contact since we arrived.”

“What about it? You don't like PDA. What's that got to do with-?”

“We don't _like_ each other, Mattie,” Gilbert said, smiling exasperatedly. “Amelia's not going out with me.”

Matthew stopped trying to get free, staring at Gilbert. “Wha-?” He stopped himself, thinking. Obviously, this was Amelia's idea, wanting to have her family think she had a boyfriend. Why? Matthew thought of a reason and hoped it was true, hoped he could speak to his sister properly again, yearned to be able to have at least one family member on his side. “Why...? And why are you telling me this?”

Shrugging, Gilbert glanced towards the front door. “You seem like the only one that'd be cool with it. I think you should ask her why – and ask her about Alice while you're- Actually, that's a bad idea.” With wide eyes, Gilbert shook his head. “Don't ask her about Alice. She won't shut up about her.”

“Oh, my God,” Matthew murmured, his own eyes wide. “She's-” He stopped, deciding he would wait until he could speak to Amelia before he said it out loud. “So you're just a friend.”

“Yeah. Met her at an LGBT party. I was friends with Alice before Amelia.”

“Okay.” Matthew stared at Gilbert, looking at him with fresh eyes. He looked all the more attractive, especially in the soft lighting from the various lights around. Even more than ever now, he wanted to bite those piercings but he managed to hold himself back. Just because the guy had been at an LGBT party, didn't mean he'd like Matthew in that way.

They stayed like that for a little while longer, neither of them speaking. Matthew bit his lip to try to stop himself from doing anything. Gilbert's eyes flickered down to them and back up. For a second, everything was still. Then Gilbert pulled Matthew towards him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Matthew's eyes widened once he'd drawn back and he stared at Gilbert for a moment.

“Did you...?”

“Hey, it's the season of giving, isn't it?” Gilbert said, shrugging his shoulders. His eyes stayed locked on Matthew's.

“That wasn't so much giving as taking,” Matthew pointed out.

A grin spread on Gilbert's face and Matthew smiled as well, fond and pleased. They watched each other for a while. Since Matthew showed no further protest, Gilbert pulled Matthew towards him again and planted his lips on Matthew's. Letting go of his arms, finally, Gilbert wrapped his own around Matthew's waist and held him close. Matthew put his arms around Gilbert's shoulders, kissing back just as fiercely as Gilbert was kissing him.

If Gilbert hadn't tried to deepen the kiss, Matthew knew they would have stayed like that for hours. Unfortunately, Matthew's brain caught up with him and he pulled away, shaking his head. “Ah, no,” he panted, feeling a little light-headed. “We can't do that here. My family...”

“Tsk. I know,” grumbled Gilbert, shooting the house a glare. He chewed on his lip for a moment, wonderfully distracting Matthew from the urgency of removing himself from the embrace. “I'll give you all my contact info in the morning, 'kay? You call me, all right?”

“Yes, sir,” Matthew said, half-sarcastically, half-seriously. It sent a shiver down Gilbert's spine and Matthew raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

Clearing his throat, Gilbert said, “We need to go in now. Probably best to do it a few minutes apart, too.”

“Just a minute,” said Matthew, realising something. He leaned up, pressing his mouth against Gilbert's ear. “I've been wanting to do this all night and I won't get a chance to for who knows how long...” And, with that, he bit at a red piercing that had been catching his eye the entire time. Gilbert gasped and tightened his grip on Matthew. But Matthew quickly pulled away, gave Gilbert an innocent smile and hurried inside.

On the other side of the front door, Matthew drew in a long breath and pressed a hand to his hammering heart, his cheeks red hot. A slow smile spread on his face and he twirled on the spot. It looked like Amelia's fake boyfriend had just become his own – which would be better than any gift she could ever give him for Christmas.

**Author's Note:**

> And, every Christmas after that, Matthew told Amelia her present wasn’t as good as the year she gave him his boyfriend, later fiancé, later husband. (After a long-distance relationship and unfortunate misunderstandings…)


End file.
